


7,200 Seconds

by blacklitchick



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Richonne - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-30 20:12:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6438571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blacklitchick/pseuds/blacklitchick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Any second now."</p>
            </blockquote>





	7,200 Seconds

**Title:** 7,200 Seconds

**Summary:** "Any second now."

* * *

"Any second now. Yeah. Any second."

The smoke from Abraham's cigar left a pungent odor in the air. The wind started to blow a little harder as sunset approached. Rick could feel his toes involuntarily clinch in his tight cowboy boots. Consequence of running around the countryside with Morgan. His heartbeat echoed in his head as his chest rose up and down in quick breaths feeling like he could never get enough air in his lungs. The fingers on his right hand twitched at his side. His trigger hand. The only time he took his eyes away from the road beyond the gate was when he looked at his watch. Two hours. Seven thousand, two hundred seconds since he arrived back to learn Michonne was still out there. He didn't know where she was and if any harm had been done to her, but his mind had imagined her in the most dire of circumstances. He knew he told no one else to leave. He knew that people needed to be there in Alexandria in case they were attacked. But what he knew most of all was he needed Michonne more than the breath he couldn't quite catch. He was going after her, and he was taking all the best fighters left with him.

"Abraham -" he started as he turned to the smoking man, but his attention was caught by the sound of a motor. Beyond the gate the rusted van was slowing rolling down the street. He could see Michonne's face through the dirty windshield as Glenn drove them home. What happened next seemed like a blur. Gates opened. Van parked. Shouts of relief from Maggie. The next thing his conscious mind knew was that Michonne was in his arms; her body pressed tightly against his. She was saying something about Daryl and Rosita, but he couldn't register it. He just pulled her closer.

"Rick, I can't breathe." Michonne pushed away slightly trying to look up at his face.

He loosened his vice grip on her to allow a little room between them. Though not much. "Yeah. I know the feeling. Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" His voice held a hint of accusation but the pain was most palpable.

Michonne tilted her head to the side and rubbed his forearm. She used the voice usually reserved for when they were alone in their bedroom. "There was no time. Didn't Abraham tell you? Daryl jetted out of here so quickly. Me, Glenn, and Rosita knew we had to stop him from doing something stupid."

"You still should have told me," he said as he cupped her face with both of her hands using his thumbs to caress her cheeks. "I was right there in the house."

"Rick, you would have done..." Michonne stopped talking when she saw the tears starting to form in his eyes. "Rick? What is it?" Her own mind started to race with worry that something went wrong while she was away.

"You were just gone, and I had no idea where you were," he whispered.

Michonne felt herself on the verge of crying too. She had no idea what her leaving would do this to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. She could hear his heart still beating rapidly. "It's okay. I'm okay," she said softly to him.

He rested his head on top of hers and was finally able to breathe normally again. "I told you we should have just stayed in bed."

He could feel her body vibrate as she laughed. "Next time I'll listen to you."

* * *

Rick poured the hot water from the kettle into Michonne's mug before sitting down next to her at the kitchen table. He dunked the last bag of green tea into the cup. She was capable of making her own tea, but she knew he needed to take care of her. As much for him as for her.

"Too many of us are still out there." She shook her head as she watched Rick stir honey into her tea. "We didn't want to leave Daryl and Rosita, but it wasn't a smart mission and as a wise man once said, 'I don't take chances anymore.'"

He smirked as he pushed her mug closer to her now that it was worthy of her consumption. "I don't know about wise, but y'all made the right call. So did I with Carol and Morgan. They're our family, but our priority has to be here protecting home right now. The Saviors are coming. And probably soon. We're already down four of our best fighters. We can't spare anymore going out to look for them. We just have to trust that they'll make it back to us."

Michonne nodded. "I know. Didn't make it any easier to leave them though. Or make me worry any less about all of them."

Rick picked up her hand and placed tiny kisses against her palm. "The whole time you were gone our conversation from this morning kept playing in my head. I was boasting about everythang I needed being within these walls then just like that it wasn't. You were just gone. And I couldn't function." He lifted her chin to look directly into her eyes. "If somethin' happened to you..." he shook his head unable to complete the thought.

Michonne leaned over to place a soft kiss on his lips. "I won't do it again. I won't just leave without telling you."

Rick breathed a sigh of relief and the corners of his mouth lifted in a small smile. "Okay," he said.

She stood as he continued to kiss her palm; only stopping when she leaned down to hug him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head in between her breasts.

"You know you're never leaving my sight again, right?"

Michonne ran her hands through his hair. "And you know that's not realistic, right."

"I know. Just humor me for the rest of the day."

She laughed and kissed the top of his head. "Okay. I'll never leave your side again, Rick."

"Rick? Rick?"

"Hmm?" Rick blinked rapidly as Michonne disappeared from his sight and the road ahead jumped out at him. The RV was racing through the back roads of Virginia. He dropped his head and wiped at the corner of his eye. He could feel Abraham staring at him from the driver's seat.

The man risked taking his eyes off the road to shoot worried looks at Rick. "Where's your mind, buddy?"

Rick shook his head. "Nowhere. Just going over the plan again." He scratched at his beard and then ran his hand through his curls. He could almost still feel Michonne's phantom touch. "We almost there?"

"That's what I was saying. The spot were those Saviors ass wenches ambushed us is right here. Figured that's where Daryl ran off to." He parked the RV and pointed to the train tracks ahead. "The good Doc Denise was handed her unfortunate cease and desist living order by God right up there on those tracks. A betting man would say that Daryl followed their trail into those woods. And Michonne and the others soon followed."

Rick squinted his eyes as he looked towards the empty tracks."Well, let's go then." His trigger finger twitched as he gripped his Colt. The muscles in his jaw jumped into a snarl. He was ready for war. He looked back at the crew he assembled for the rescue mission. Not finding Michonne wasn't an option.

His son was seated by the window. Carl had been quiet the whole trip. He checked his gun strapped down in the holster and then looked up at his father. "We're going to get her back, Dad." His steely gaze matched his father's

Rick nodded as his snarl deepened. He clapped his son on the back and led his team out of the RV. "We are."


End file.
